CONWAY — Central Arkansas women's soccer coach Tina Banham has stepped down after 11 years at the school to pursue other interests, UCA Director of Athletics Dr. Brad Teague announced Friday.

"Coach Banham has resigned effective immediately to pursue other options and interests," Teague said. "We appreciate her dedication to UCA for more than a decade. She was one of our longest-tenured head coaches and we appreciate her service to the university and our women's soccer program. The search for a new head coach will begin immediately. We will be accepting applications through the new year, and hope to have a new coach in place by February 1."

Banham leaves UCA after 11 seasons as head coach, compiling an 82-97-12 overall record. After going 2-13 in 2001, she guided the Bears to a 43-26-2 (.620) record from '02-'05 and in '02 was named the Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year and had UCA ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Division II South Region. In '04, UCA climbed as high as No. 4 in the regional poll and the Bears scored their first win over a Top 25 opponent. The following year the Bears won a school-record 12 games, finishing 12-4-1.

The move to Division I proved more difficult for the program. After recording a winning season (8-7-2) in 2006 in the first year of D-I play and following it up with an 8-9 season in '07, the Bears struggled through consecutive seasons of double-digit losses – going a combined 10-23-2 in '08-'09. In the last four years, the Bears have gone just 21-42-8 (.347) and have yet to qualify for a Southland Conference tournament. This season UCA was just 1-7-1 in conference play.

Banham exits having coached 11 of the 14 seasons in the program's existence. She came to UCA after a three-year stint as head coach at Lambuth University, twice taking the Lady Eagles to the Mid-South Conference tournament semifinals. Prior to Lambuth, she spent two seasons as an assistant soccer coach and head women's tennis coach at her alma mater of Coker College in Hartsville, S.C.